Zombie! No, zoombie! Walker!
by r0m4ncef4n4t1c
Summary: Mental Hospitals. Nice places. Kansas City is having an issue with flesh eating creatures. Sucks that those in mental hospitals don't know this. Unless they're psychic. In which case they might. Yeah, Cyle doesn't. She just knows her door's unlocked and the lights are off. Not to mention murderer's roaming.
1. Voices

***la/N -Also known as a Starla note. Which is my first name in case you didn't randomnly go to my profile and read my very sad info. I'm working on a lot of stuff right now and in some ways zombies are very overdone in this day in age but there really aren't that many on fictionpress. I know you know it's mature because it says so, but I need to say that it really is. Some of the things she sees and hear are not... normal or right in the slightest. And sex will be a part of the story, even if...the main characters not actually having it. You'll see what I mean in the future. I've already got a vague outline for the rest of it so at least I know where I'm going. Right now, it might be a little confusing and a little all over the place, but I think it's decent. I hope you enjoy the read! And sorry for the long note... they get on my nerves so I'll probably stick to the end in the future. **

_**Chapter 1: Psycho**_

Pain. Needles, Blood, Infection...I need to get out of , Death, am I?

White, Blue, Crosses?

"You're going to die. You're all going to die."

Struggle, Injection, Resistance, Fog.

* * *

"Coming live from Kansas City... Something's gone wrong with the mental patients at Rainbow Mental Health Facility. We'll keep you updated. To John for the weather." - 4:03 p.m.

"Apparently there were illegal experiments going on with the patients. The staff has conveniently disappeared." -5:00 p.m

"So far 25 dead bodies have been found in the hospital. All have died of mysterious causes. I ask, where did the staff go?" -5:30 p.m

"Autopsy performed on one of the bodies. Something happened but I am not at liberty to say." -7:00 p.m

"John speaking. There is a storm heading our way. The wind... WHAT? Okay. Back to Sarah." -7:30 p.m

"The dead bodies aren't dead bodies! Apparently one of the patients woke up and bit the doctor that was observing. The doctor has a fever. Are we witnessing a new outbreak?" -7:31 p.m

"Sorry to keep ya'll out of the loop. The doctor bitten is now dead. Some sort of new infection. As for the dead who aren't really dead, they are being observed. Something's wrong with them."-11:31 p.m

"No more information from facility. Cops have been called." -1:00 a.m

"John again. Wind speeds picking up. A couple of reports of fallen trees have came in. Be careful." -1:30 a.m

"Sarah, here. There is a reported lockdown on the facility. Three cops were injured inside. Reports from St. Christine's Hospital say that the infection is easily spread. They haven't completely ruled out air yet." -2.00 a.m

"Cops dead. No one knows what's going on. The lockdown at the facility has been lifted. Reports of mental patients wandering are circulating." -4:00 a.m

"Reported seeing supposed dead doctor wandering around with a weird loping walk. What's going on?" -6:00 a.m

"Get out! Grab your kids, family, pets, whatever and get the hell out now! Whatever this infection is, it's changing people into cannibals. Run!" -10:00 a.m

"News Broadcast is shutting down in this event of a zombie apocalypse. We apologize for the inconvenience. We suggest you get on the closest boat or airplane and travel to a far-off island." 1:00 p.m

* * *

**Location: Two Rivers Psychiatric Hospital **

**Time: 10:00 a.m**

**Date: September 11, 2030**

I'm going to die. We're all dead. Why are we dead? I struggled to grab a clear thought. Lockdown? What... was going on? Leaving, they'll abandon you. You'll be alone forever. Dead. We're all dead. I opened my eyes. The room was spinning. I shook my head and gasped at the headache. I couldn't see clearly.

"She's awake. Get another round of medication." I wanted to scream 'No!' but it'd be a waste of time. I couldn't... I hissed as a needle slipped into my arm. No. No please. I don't want to die. Why would I die? Goddamnit, I couldn't think! I closed my eyes when the room started to fade.

"Get out! Grab your kids, family, pets, whatever and get the hell out now! Whatever this infection is, it's changing people into cannibals. Run!"

Cannibals... running? Sleepy... No. Stay awake. I heard things crashing around me. I begged myself to not go under, I needed to wake up.

"We can't stay here!"

"What about the patients?"

"They're crazy anyway. Leave them."

Leaving... That sounds lovely. Mmmm... sleep. Begging had never worked before. Why would it work now?

* * *

**Time: 12:20 a.m**

**Date:September 12, 2030**

I woke up to the sound of silence. There was no beeping monitor, no low volume TV, or even the sound of gossipy nurses. Silence. I didn't move, or open my eyes, just listened. Silence was a rare commodity here. We're all going to die. Flashes of dead people appeared under my eyelids.I frowned and opened my eyes.

Shit... I blinked at the darkness. Why were the lights off? I sat up, extremely disoriented. I lifted my hand and felt around on the bed. Feeling for the edge I scooted over and swung my legs off of the side. I couldn't see, but my head felt fuzzy so I assumed that my dark world was spinning. I closed my eyes again and took a deep breath.

I hadn't been completely awake for two or three days. I hadn't been off the damn medication for about six months. I smiled ruefully. In an hour or two I'd be completely sober. I pushed myself up from off of the side of the bed and stumbled forward. I tried to imagine the small room I had been staying in. There was, maybe an end table to the left? I put my hand out to feel. I snatched my hand back at the feel of a a cold wall.

No end table then. Oh, of course no end table. I might have decided to bang my head against a sharp edge like that girl in room 206. Though now that I thought about it, I could have banged my head endlessly against the wall. Maybe not as effective at first, but in the long run... I shook my head. No point contemplating suicide now. Maybe later.

I reached out for the wall again, shivering slightly at the cold. I slid closer to the wall and walked forward, keeping my steps light. Not being able to remember the outline of the room was a problem. My fingers trailed lightly against the cold wall as I kept moving forward. I froze when I felt something sharp under my foot. I stepped back and bent down to the floor, reaching down in a sweeping motion. My fingers swiped the object and I closed my fingers around it.

Pain entered my senses and I frowned, reaching with my other hand to carefully poke the... owww. Okay. Glass. Why was there glass on the floor? Why was my room dark? _They're crazy. Leave them_. I took a breath and closed my eyes, perfectly content to watch the movie behind my eyelids. The nurses were running about yelling something about... zombies? I opened my eyes. Zombies. Right. I'm going insane. Wait... already am. Damn.

I sighed and kept my fingers wrapped around the piece of glass. I felt that it kept me grounded. In the present. What that was precisely, I didn't know. No point lingering on the floor while I pondered it, though. I straightened my body up, sort of shaky from my position. Now that I knew there was glass, I was wary to walk forward.

Pity that I didn't have the ability to see in the dark. I reached my arm out to trace the wall and slid my feet carefully across the floor, taking specific care not to lift my feet. When I felt the glass press against my foot, I kept intense pressure down to insure that I would step ON it. No sense in completely shredding my feet. I continued to slide for a bit until I saw that the lights were blinking sparratically except... they weren't. I blinked and sighed.

This vision thing was beginning to become a problem. My literal vision... and my... unliteral vision. I had no real clue if the lights had really came on. I squeezed the piece of glass and sighed when my senses sharpened. I could feel the blood trailing down my wrist and the steady dripping sound was almost loud.

I focused on picturing the lights turning on and saw them flicker on. I looked at the ground, observing the strewn glass and medicine cart tossed over. The door was to my... right. I shifted that way and groaned as it all went away. Fuck. Why wouldn't the lights actually turn on? And what was the fucking point in being crazy if it wasn't the useful kind?

The door had looked like it was about 10 feet away, which in the long run, was really not THAT far. I mean, without accounting for glass, a drugged patient, and no lights, it was quite a laughable distance. So maybe I shouldn't account for anything and skip merrily on the... red brick road. After all, we WERE in Kansas, so there couldn't possibly be a yellow one. And who in the hell orders yellow brick anyhow?

"Help! Someone!" My mouth mimicked the words and I rolled my eyes. Help. Right. People get help in mental institutions. Help contained inside of pills and nice, white rooms. I should've probably felt sorry for whatever hapless soul was yelling outside of the doorway, maybe even called out for my own help. Should've. Didn't. Oh well. I had my own problems.

Besides, the voices in my head were enough without mine adding to the mix. It truly was like different radio stations. Tune into the very pointless past of others, or, if you're feeling a little crazy, why not tell the future? Fuck the present. That's where sane people live.

_"Oh dear. Oh dear. What's all of that blood doing there? Oh dear. I didn't mean to. He ran into the knife. Oh you must believe me!"_Sucked that the only radio station that came in around here revolved around mental patients.

_"Fuck 'em. Fuck them. They didn't want to play with me. So I made them incapable of playing with anyone else!"_I didn't allow myself to get sucked into the stories of these people. It was a waste of time and energy. Though some of the images and voices running through my mind were intriguing.

_"Like, he put his dick in my face, and I was like, all,_ Ima bite that thing off!" Dear lord, poor man. It'll never be the same. Decent size too. Hmm. I shuffled my feet a bit and slid forward again. Such a pity that I couldn't fly. Or that the lights weren't on. Or that the nurses couldn't have done their job and cleaned. The main issue was that the lights weren't on.

I felt little pieces of glass poke at my feet but it wasn't like I could just avoid it all together since I had no shoes. And I wasn't going to just sit around and wait for the lights to turn on. Knowing my luck the vision would take place a week from now. Really should put in a request for a date and time at the bottom of the vision. Kinda like a camera. The question was, nikon or -? Never knew much of a difference, although I was leaning towards nikon with Ashton, just because, you know, it's Ashton.

Not that I was ridiculous enough to base my tastes off of a celebrity. Otherwise I'd have boobs a foot aways from me and long ass nails. Dolly Parton, anyone? I mean yeah, she's dead. But everyone knows who she was. Dollywood may have gotten shut down, but her legacy lived on with plastic surgery stories and implants. Maybe not what she was looking for, but at least it was something.

_"They told me that I was crazy. I believed them. Then I went out and shot everyone in the bank. I was just living up to their expectations. What else was a girl to do?"_Points to that chick. That was a very good way to show off being crazy. I would do the same thing. Well, maybe not. I'd just shoot the person who said it. Little bit more reasonable of me.

Inching forward was just not doing it for me. I might have moved three feet. Go me! I could jump, though there was a chance that I would land on glass, or that I would run into the door. So, I jumped. I mean, why not? A person only lived once, and it's not like I had predicted my own death. It was oddly comforting in a way. I landed easily, and no glass poked into my feet. I hadn't jumped far, regardless, I wasn't a bunny. I barely had any energy as it was, and it's not like my legs were the strongest after all of this time.

What happened to daily runs, walks through the woods, and swimming? Oh, guess it wasn't important for an institution to worry about. I got daily walks through the halls if I was "good" and didn't say anything. Thank God, for no favors. The medication loosened my mouth and I couldn't control talking about the visions. It wasn't really my fault, but the nurses thought differently. So really, I got weekly walks.

Just enough exercise to keep me mobile. I got to walk around my room too, but a nurse was on standby with a needle in case I acted wierd. In case you're curious, using your left foot to start walking counted as wierd. So did standing still for longer then 3 seconds. Apparently there was no point in being out of bed if I wasn't going to make use of my precious time.

How were they to know what was wierd? My definition of acting wierd would be acting out of MY norm, which meant that telling the future, specifically futures of death, were normal, which is the opposite of wierd, meaning I was not wierd when they said I was. So, on this train of thought, they were liars, and I was superior, and normal. Sadly, noone lived on my train of thought.

_"I don't want to... oh yes you do. No, I really, really don't. I actually believe you do." _Fuck. Me. I didn't want to see memories from someone with split personalities, or whatever that person had. _"Yes you do." _...Great. Now memories are arguing with me. Let's step forward. Seeing as my right hand was curled against my chest, I lifted my left to scout out the territory once more. Just air. 1 step. 2 step. 3 step. Are you really counting, 4 step? Door. Yay! First person to the door in her own personal room. You win... where's the handle? Shit.

I slid my hand all over the door looking for the knob. Oh, what is this circular thing? I turned it. Hmm, interesting. Now pull. Lookie there! More darkness. Well, at least I found the circular... door knob. Really gotta stop pretending to be stupid in my own head. Now... let there be light! ...And there was none. Really, what did God have that I didn't?

_"Mama told me to pray at night. I did. I asked for Mama to go to heaven. He didn't take my request. So I fulfilled it myself. Can't expect him to do everything, now can we?" _Great idea, Lyle. Sadly, I was not an electrician. And I could not glow. Dear lord, little bit of... LIGHT! I grinned. Yay. The halls were a wreck. Beds and carts thrown everywhere, the occasional bit of glass. But it would be okay. Now, onto the shoes. Wherever those might be.

I remembered them taking my items and telling me, "You'll get your stuff back when you're feeling better. Don't worry about it." Instant needle. How was I not supposed to worry when you have something sharp coming at me? And taking my necklace was a low blow. _"Now this is just a precaution. We do this for your own safety." _Personally, I just wanted the necklace because I thought it looked great with the shitty hospital gown. But NO. They don't allow you to accesorize in institutions such as these.

Well, now what? I glanced at my hand. Oh look! It's bleeding. There's a huge gash. And the glass is so shiny, and smeared. I guessed that I didn't technically need the glass anymore, so I threw in in my room. My nice, white room with... okay. That's a nurse. Is she... _"You can do this. Just overdose. Not that difficult. Noone's here. Noone will notice." _What the... and I thought I had problems. Poor girl. Thought her life was hell because she took care of crazy people every day. She thought her life was hard? Try reliving the crazy moments in their lives.

So... she's dead. I don't care. Moving on. Now, that sign said waiting room pointing left. Obviously, this meant go right, through the doors that said "Employer's Only." I was an employer. I worked here. Okay, maybe I didn't, but I used to be a good girl who followed the rules and that miniscule little part of me wanted me to not open that door. So for the little girl inside of me, I was an employer. The more prominent person was saying fuck this, I'm a mental patient, and I want to go in that door. So I'm going to.

And so I went. Because I'm a hardcore rule breaker. God, I needed to get out of here. Living in my head did not seem like a good plan. The question was, did I need social interaction? Maybe. But seeing as I was surrounded by Kansas's finest mental killers, with the occasional down on the luck schizo and multiples... didn't really think social interaction was the best plan for me right now. Besides, my last few social encounters, not counting the ones inside of the institution, ended with me saying some not so nice things.

Or so my mother and boyfriend said. What was so wrong about telling your mother she was going to die from a fever, when you're angry at her? And telling your boyfriend that he was going to cheat on you apparently was not in the social etiquette rulebook. Did I break up with him? What was his name? Started with a B. I think. Always started reciting the Dr. Suess B book in my head when I thought of him. That's probably why I kept him around. Reciting the book always made me happy, and that got confused with "special" feelings.

Poor guy. Wonder what he's doing now. Pity that I couldn't really have visions of random people really far away. Then again, I didn't particularly care to find out what my mother or boyfriend were doing right now. Maybe each other. My mother always did have a thing for that younger pool boy. Eww. Ewww. I forgot I had that vision of the two. Sorry dad. While you were out shooting, she was getting shot in.

Walking through those doors, the first thing I saw was a nice resting place. Couches. Filing cabinets. You know. The cool stuff. Sadly, I wasn't here to partake of the lovely comfort offered so I moved on to the door that said "Belongings." Now, typically, I figured this would actually be like a place for the nurses belongings. And half of the room was. There was a very distinct difference between them. The nurses belongings were in open cubby holes unless they had sharp objects. In which case it was put in the locked drawer below it. The patients, on the other hand, were in lockers, with nice little locks on each.

There were names above each one and I scanned for mine. Eski, eski... oh, look! My name. Now, onto the search for a key. Find the key. Find the key. Oh yeah, they'd leave keys for patients to find wouldn't they? I needed a nurse. Preferably a live one, but a dead one would technically do. On the bright side, there were shoes in one of the nurses cubbies. Nice... tall, red heels. Damn me to hell. Glass... or heel. Not a glass heel. Do I look like fucking cinderella? Though technically this could be a dorothy moment.

No place like a mental institution. I sighed, looking in the other cubbies for more suitable shoes. One had to wonder why the heels weren't locked in the drawer seeing as they could be considered a weapon. If I was a murderer, and happened upon then, first train of thought: stab. It was pretty logical, when you thought about it. Obviously most don't think about it. Fairly new-age thinking. I shrugged and turned away from the shoes.

Maybe being a murderer was fun. I had never actually tried it, contrary to popular belief. The power I felt in some of the minds of the people here, after taking a life, was addictive. Morally, it was wrong. But if you could get past that, maybe convince yourself that it was in fact, right, the rush could be a new experience. A new experience that I did not particularly wish to participate in, but it was something to mull over on a rainy day, or when something goes wrong in the mental institution for killers you just so happen to be associated in.

Guilty by association, I guess. It was kinda funny. I decided to just go back barefoot. I didn't really feel any pain from my hand or feet anyhow. Surely later it would be a little more upsetting, probably more painful, but why worry about that? I stopped in front of the door when I saw flashes of different patients wandering the... Holy shit! I'm in an institution with murderers. Murderer's no longer kept inside of there rooms, and no longer on medication. That was enough to make me worry a tad bit. I suppressed the visions, figuring that if I was to meet my maker in that hall, it would have been more important then seeing the county hall murderer bare assed.

Not that the visions came, ranked in importance, though that would be very helpful. I just had this idea that if I was going to envision dying, I would know it was about me. Could be wrong, but no point thinking about it. So, I opened the door and walked back out into the hall. Not my best plan, not really my worst. I wasn't much of a planner. Always went with whatever came to mind first. Might be something wrong with that idea. But I was never wrong, and if I was, I didn't remember it.

You could say that most would freak out if they were sane, and in a mental institution of criminals. I didn't. I'm not gonna say I'm not like most, I like pancakes in the morning just like everyone else, coffee's always a plus, and I even like walking my dog on occasion. My dog! Damn it, my mom probably put her in the pound. Poor thing. Anyways, in most ways, I was like most people. I just saw visions. On the metaphorical scale of things, that really wasn't that bad. Lots of people claimed to be psychic. A few actually were. Or at least I thought they were because I was and someone else had to have the same annoying problem as me.

Looking in the halls of rooms, many doors were still shut. Which was good, if you wanted to stay away from the murderer's. But I knew that some patients had left their rooms. I just didn't know where they were...

"HELP! Please. He took my baby! Please..." I jumped at the sound of a voice behind me and turned. Well isn't this nice. My first interaction with another patient.

_"I was careful. I was. I wanted that baby. I did! I didn't know that falling down the stairs would make me bleed everywhere like that. Where's my baby? What did you do with my baby?"_I grimaced. The woman didn't even realize that she had miscarried. Attacked the doctor's and nurses at the local hospital, and tried to steal a baby from the nursery. The institution's way of dealing with her fascination of baby's, was to give her a baby doll. And it would seem, that she had lost it.

Typically, this would be the part where I say that she lived up to the expectations of a mental patient and looked like The Grudge. Really old horror film. Classic. Dumb as shit. But a classic. Instead, she was wearing a normal sundress, apparently being able to wear nicer clothing then me because she only lived here 3 days a week and got to leave to go to a different place the rest of the time. Something about one place becoming too much for her. Always reminded her of the baby. Mental institution reminded her of her baby. Somehow I think that this is wrong in a way.

Her hair was not ratty, or black for that matter. She had blonde hair and really was quite attractive, even when she was balling her eyes out. She was running towards me, hands out, and I did what any other person would do in this situation. I sidestepped. She ran past me, not even realizing I was there, or so it would seem. Her helps echoed off of the walls.

"Is she gone?" My head snapped back to still see an empty hall.

"Down here." My eyes traveled down to look in the eyes of a midget, holding a baby doll. That woman's baby doll. Why would he... ohhh. Pedophile. His hand was slowly caressing the child back and forth, and his little hospital gown did nothing to hide the tent. Didn't have to be psychic to know what the bastard was into.

He looked earnest. "I know I shouldn't have took her, but she looked at me and I knew, at once, that she was mine. I imprinted on her!" What the fuck is imprinting and what about it makes liking a baby right? Especially, a baby DOLL. Not even one of the expensive ones either. All this one did was pee. Old school.

When I didn't speak back he frowned. I just pointed the way she had went and smiled prettily. He must have thought I meant she hadn't gone that way, because he sped off, as fast as his little legs would carry him. In a way, I could maybe see his interest in children. If for nothing other then the fact he was the size of one. It was still wrong though.

But, who was I to say what was wrong and right? That was for the law enforcers in the world. Getting back to my room wasn't that difficult once I remembered what I had came for. It was maneuvering around the glass and feeling up the dead nurse that was kind of difficult. She didn't really stink yet, but her eyes were open. Flashes of her not-so-bad past kept entering my mind, even though I was attempting to block if off. I maybe should have payed attention to my surrounding more, listened carefully for footsteps. Maybe even closed the door. But I didn't. So, when I heard a voice, a feminine one, I was surprised.

"This one's groping a dead nurse! Come 'ere, look!" Actually, I was looking for the key, which was now in my hand. Success! I didn't turn though, just let my hands rest on my knees. Whoever was behind me was probably getting a good view of my back and ass. Always was one of my best features. Or so I thought.

"Get away from there Natalie! What in the hell is wrong with you? Stay AWAY from the patients." Manly voice. Older. Using the term patient meant that they weren't apart of the institution, which meant they were normal. Oh joy. What would I do? Scare the shit out of them? Maybe. Didn't have anything else to do.

**Hope you enjoyed! Review, message me, whatever. I'd kinda like to get somewhere with this and support would be nice.**


	2. Crazy Girl

**~*la A.N~Really not a fairytale, just the only section I could think to put it in on fanfiction. Very odd story. Hope you enjoy. Wouldn't recommend who don't like cussing, or sex. There's a reason it's rated M. **

**Chapter 2: Crazy Girl**

_Freedom. Darkness, Confusion, Emptiness_

_What happened?_

_Fog, Blood, Pain_

_I need my stuff. Where's my stuff?_

_Voices, Kills, Ridicule_

_Silence. I choose silence. _

**Time: 1:30 a.m**

**Date: September 12, 2030**

_His lips caressed the back of her neck slowly, leaving nothing but a trail of warm heat. Her head was tilted back against his chest, in submission to him. His hands slipped up under her skirt, fingering the edge of her panties. Her moans were quiet, not as loud as usual, but he was slow in his seduction, unlike her others. Maybe that's why she kept him around longer. Or maybe it was because of the size of what was pressing into her backside. _

This Natalie chick was one... lusty woman. I didn't particularly want a reading from her, but that memory of hers must have been on her mind cause it entered mine quickly. At least she got some recently... I hadn't had sex since, well, never. That whole waiting until marriage shit, yeah, that was me. Must have been crazy to think that that was a good idea. All it ever got me was a curiosity that I could never feel, without going against my morals. Luckily I'd lost all of those. Why have morals in the midst of a place where no one could?

The problem was, from what I understood, being labeled mentally insane, was a complete turnoff. Personally, I'd think it might make things a little more risqué in bed. You'd have to always wonder if that person was there to kill you. _I'll kill you. I'll make everything go away. Just give me a little something first._ It would appear that room 301 contained a patient who would gladly kill me, if I happened to be 12 years old, and blonde. I wasn't either. Fancy that.

The girl behind me was blonde. I knew that. I also knew she was 5'6, 24 years old, and owned a very loose vagina. I wasn't judging though. Stupid bitch was going to get an STD in 2 years, but other than that... it was all good. Really, it was. At least my vision confirmed she would be alive in 2 years unless her future drastically changed and she died a horrible death in the hands of evil. Which was extremely likely if the zombie apocalypse spiel the newscasters were going on about was true, in which case, she was screwed, as was I. So the optimistic view is that she'll get an STD.

I decided that because of her hopefully impending, life-threatening disease, I would be kind, and just stand up, turn slowly, and smile. My smile must have lost its touch in the past couple of months, because... well, she screamed. I toned it down a bit, hoping to coax her into a false sense of security, but the older man behind, who was 46, brown headed, and an army man, pulled her back.

"What didn't you understand about staying away from the patients?" She was moved out of the doorway quickly and soon out of my sight.

"Well I didn't know she was in there and it was the first door I'd seen open..."

A new voice came in. "Oh, yes, walk into a murderer's room. That is the first thing I thought of when I saw the open door." As much as it pains me to sound like a typical heroine attracted to a typical man, his voice drawled. Yes, drawled. Sounds like drooled, and somehow ends up being something sexy. I ignored my urge to delve into his life. Lesson learned the first time around. DON'T look into a potential partner's past ,present, or future. Not that he had potential.

I was crazy. Didn't matter who he was, or if he _drawled_. I was a murdering, insane, schizophrenic who would never be anything more. I know, I sound like I'm trying to make it seem like this sob story. It's not one. That's the cruel thing about life. You are what everyone sees. You might know you are different. You might even have a few people who know it too, but it's the combined vote, those people who you don't want to judge you, who end up with that power.

" I thought that maybe it was a storeroom, or something."

"There's a number on the door."

"Well excuse me for trying to help!"

"Be quiet. We need to get the stuff we want and leave. Attracting the attention of people who have a record for killing is not a part of the plan." The older man had authority, intelligence, and enough sense to shut the two up. I had a decision to make. Make friends. Or stand awkwardly with a key until they left. Or, perhaps just go on about my business. I chose the third option, not realizing at the time that it would actually be decided for me.

I tightened my hold on the key and stepped towards the door, my friend. There were only three of them. The older man was typing at one of the computers and the Natalie girl was standing behind him looking over his shoulder. Drawling man was staring straight at me. I didn't bother with smiling this time. Red hair, tall figure, and well-built. Typical green eyes. His hand slid into his jacket and he glanced at his crew.

"Natalie, I think she likes you." Both turned to look at me, and drawling ginger (I had to add it) drew a gun on me. I stood for a moment and then just turned and starting walking back to my employment room.

"Where the hell is she going?" Natalie.

"Does it matter? Oh, do you like her? I'd call her back, but she seems a little distracted." Drawler.

I kept walking for a few more steps before I saw that they were wanting to go where I was. I turned back and... realized that I was still wearing a hospital gown. And my ass was showing. Well, there goes the first date. I looked at Natalie, and used my finger to beckon her over.

"Booty call. Natalie, attracting the insane, new talent." Drawler.

"Shut up, X!" Natalie.

I shrugged and kept walking until I was back where I wanted to be. In front of my locker. I took a deep breath, and inserted the key. I didn't turn it. Not yet. If they had not thrown my things away, I should have three pairs of decent jeans, two shirts, an old army jacket, and small backpack. Not to mention a torn up pair of gym shoes, and my necklace. Hopefully underwear, if I was lucky.

If I put those clothes back on again, would I be back where I started? Time traveling wasn't real, but some things become associated with... things. And those clothes could possibly set me in that persona I had had for years of my life. Young, innocent, but cynical. Or, I could become what made me in the last year. Disillusioned, desperate, screaming for silence in my head. It was a choice. It wouldn't be who I was anymore, but it would be a start.

But maybe it was time to stop starting. Putting an end to old personas, the old me. Yay. Now I could start acting like one of those old celebrities who said they were going to change, and be a new person. Then act like it for a couple weeks, and completely give up. Really though, I was no longer innocent. Perhaps young, very cynical, and disillusioned... but never innocent. I still wanted to be rid of the visions, of knowing things but that was a pipedream.

Silence was no longer possible for me. Hmm... I need duct tape for my mind. I sighed and turned the key and the door swiveled open. My things were still in there. Oh I'm still desperate. Forgot to remention that one. I reached in for my bag and shoes. I winced when my hand closed over the strings. The blood stained the white. It was instantaneous. My feet started throbbing.

"Ow." My voice was scratchy and I winced at the sound. I could feel the sound bouncing, surrounding me. I swallowed and realized that I was thirsty. And hungry. And hurt. Damn it. I slid down with my bag, and just sat there. What good was clothes going to do me? What good was leaving even going to do? I laid my head on my knees and breathed. Deeply. Like my father taught me too.

The door opened. Luckily my ass wasn't showing from this vantage point. I couldn't see them and I closed my mind. I didn't want to see them looking at me, or their sordid pasts. I wanted to... _What do you want to do? Leave me? Is that it? I'll kill you before I let you leave._ BE QUIET! A tear fell down my cheek and I fingered my bag.

"Well, look who's here, Nate. Bet she missed you." Drawler X. I was starting to wonder if that man said anything useful. Sarcasm dripped from his tongue, and it didn't take a psychic to tell that he was arrogant. What kind of name was X anyhow?

"Ignore the girl. We're here for supplies." At least the army man had a purpose. I heard the rustling of them moving around and the crash of glass as they broke into the candy machine, and medicine cabinets. Conversation went back and forth about me. It was hard not to listen.

"What do you think she's doing?" Natalie.

"Why don't you ask her?" Drawler X.

"She's crazy!"

"That didn't stop you from walking into her room."

"I'm not going to talk to her."

"Okay then."

Silence ensued. Not for long of course. Natalie didn't seem to like silence.

"But what is she doing there?"

"Dreaming of you."

That shut her up. I was wondering at the implication of me being a lesbian. Did I look like one? Or did I act like one? Maybe both. But either way, even if I was, I'd pick less of a whore. I was better than that. Maybe. Right now I was practically in an asylum. A little low on the scale, but at least I didn't have an STD in my future. No, I had... no future. This is depressing. I want a coke.

I lifted my head and stood up, trying to ignore the pain in my feet. I reached in my bag and pulled out the jacket. I didn't even look at Natalie and X as I let the gown fall off. I quickly slipped the jacket on over myself. If went a couple of inches down from my waist, so they couldn't seen anything anymore. I pulled out my panties and jeans and proceeded to methodically put those on too.

I hadn't put the bra or a shirt on just for the simple fact it would have taken too long. Plus the bra I had was very lacy. I was feeling adventurous that day I believe.

"Did she just..." Natalie.

"Don't pretend like you have delicate sensibilities." X.

"But people don't just go around..."

"Crazy, remember."

More like I didn't have anything to lose. What did I care if they saw me without clothes? They already saw my ass. I wonder how I looked... I had lost a few pounds, that was for sure.

"Carter! The mental girl just took her clothes off." Natalie.

"It appears that she actually put them on." He has a name! Carter. Woo. Three people. Two names and a letter. I was getting good at this. I looked down at my shoes and sighed. I had to sit back down to put those on. And God it would hurt when I did finally place the things on my feet. I looked through my bag. Maybe I had... FLIP FLOPS! The shoes of Gods! I smiled and took them out and threw them on the ground.

I carefully placed my feet into the shoes and bent down to grab my other shoes and put them in my bag. There. I was ready to...

"I think she's going somewhere." X.

I finally looked up. Carter was picking snacks out of the vending machine and throwing them in a camping backpack, while Natalie was very slowly throwing medication into a smaller bag. X was actually just a few feet away from me. Staring. I decided to stare back. It was a rather uneventful occurrence.

He still had his gun in his hand. The freak. What did he think I was going to do? Kill him? Why on earth would that cross his mind? I mean I hadn't done anything to him... yet. And besides, I had my own plans. Things to do, people to see. And there were very strict gun laws in place nowadays.

"X, do you think that you could look for sheets? I know she's beautiful, but you don't have to stare." I liked Carter. He was nice.

"Beautiful? She's too skinny, breasts too small, not to mention her hair's tangled and black. Not my type."

"I would have thought the mental part an important fact to mention, but never mind that. Obviously her breasts are much more of a deal breaker."

I liked my breasts. They weren't that small. Were they? I looked down. Hmm. Well I certainly wasn't a D-cup like Miss Blonde over there, but I wasn't an A either. What was with guys and breasts anyhow? They had no purpose unless babies were involved. I heard they were important for sex. I wouldn't know. The thought of some guy sucking on my breast like a baby was enough to make me want to keep a shirt on at all times.

"I don't think she liked your assessment." I looked back up. X had moved into the closet holding washed linens, and Carter was zipping up his bag. Natalie was still pushing medicine into her little bag like she had all day. X came out with a couple of blankets and handed them over to Carter.

"Carter, how did she get into that locker?" X.

"I suppose she used the key she got off of the dead nurse she was accused of groping." Really liking this man. He was sensible.

"Do you think anything useful is in any of them?"

"Probably."

"Chances of getting that key?"

"Likely if you go get it."

"Why don't you?"

"You're younger."

"I said something mean about her."

"And that means...?"

"She's in here for murder! There's no telling what she'll do to me."

"You have a gun."

"She has... a backpack."

Halfway into this conversation I turned around, pulled the key ouf of the locker, and started walking towards the two of them. X help up his gun. I held my hand out. My nonbloody one. Didn't want to be rude. X just looked.

I opened my hand to show the key. He didn't make a move. I shrugged and closed my hand.

"Wait." I opened my hand again. He placed his hand over mine, and grabbed it.

He passed me and strode over to the lockers. Carter nodded at me.

"What X means to say is thank you. "

"For someone who warned me about patients, you seem awfully friendly." Natalie's petty voice.

"She seems alright. Harmless."

X called from behind me. "Center for Murderers. Stress the murderer part. Only allowed in, if you've committed MURDER."

"Maybe it was an accident."

"You sound like you like the girl." Natalie finally finished with gathering her medicine. She walked slowly over to Carter and me.

"I'm just saying, she seems intelligent. Getting the key, finding her clothes, putting them on."

"Oh yes, she sounds like a just citizen. I found more clothes, and there's a necklace on the floor." I swiveled towards X and practically ran towards his back.

"X, look out!" Natalie, being the brave girl she was, warned X. He promptly turned and soon there was a gun to my chest. I shook my head at him and pointed at the necklace.

"I think she wants the necklace."

"Then give it to her."

He instead moved away from it and let me pick it up. Moving my pack on my shoulder finally, I hooked the necklace on. I held it for a moment. It was just a diamond flower, with a C etched in it. Very expensive. That wasn't what made it special. It was the last thing he gave to me.

"If the locker she used is correct, I think her name is Cyle." It was reflex for me to look at someone who had said my name, and I hadn't heard it in so long.

"She even responds to the name."

"That's a guys name!" I gave Natalie a mean look.

"She looks like she wants to kill me!" Carter chuckled.

"You insulted her name? What do you expect?"

She pouted. "I was just pointing out the obvious."

"We need to go. The sooner we head out, the better our chances are. We've avoided the big traffic. We have a decent amount of supplies. Lets go before we meet a truly mental patient." Carter the Sensible.

"I agree." X.

"Well lets hurry!" Carter put his bag on, and X moved to put the blankets in a duffle bag. Natalie did nothing. Her little bag of medicine was lying on the floor, and no one reminded her to her to get it. So I picked it up. I know. I was gracious and nice. Truthfully though I just wanted to see if there were any bandages in the bag. There weren't. She was hopeless. I got some.

"Wha- she took our medicine!" Natalie.

" I actually think she's improving upon it." Carter.

"Well why would she do that? She's not coming."

"Maybe she is."

"We are NOT taking a murderer."

"It's my car."

"Well... if she's going, I'm not!"

"Okay, you stay here. Maybe it'll be a nice vacation."

"X, stop him!"

"Why didn't you think to get bandages?" X.

"I didn't think we'd need them."

"And why wouldn't we?"

"Because I got medicine."

"If you're bleeding, what's going to stop it? The medicine? And then what are you going to put on it to protect it? How stupid are you?"

I considered stopping to wrap my hand, which most definitely needed stitches, or my feet, but I figured I should continue looking helpful. Cyle, why do you want to look helpful? These are three, "normal" human beings. They are obviously stupid, at least Natalie is, one of them has an odd name and drawls, and the smart one wants to take a murdering mental patient with them. Seems like an oxymoron. Take that English. I remembered!

"I'm sorry I didn't remember okay! I was watching crazy girl."

"Well crazy girl is doing your job!"

I carried the bag to X and handed to him, refusing to look him in the eye. He was too tall. Plus eyes were the windows to the soul, and it would be even more tempting to look into his past. Path of the righteousness. The unknowing. What crock of shit am I coming up with?!

"Thanks." His voice was gruff, and definitely unappreciative, but I took it for a huge thank you. Imagined big fanfare and sign saying "Thanks Cyle." Flashy lights. Like what was once Hollywood, but what was now Mobile. As in Alabama. Yeah, biggest, hottest, movie business, in Alabama. Hard to imagine. But California was flooded. Global warming shit? Icecaps melting... well it seems people should've been more focused on Antarctica.

Piece of shit island melted to 1/4 its size before a team got sent down there to stop it with their... whatever. Big laser ice ray? Hell, I don't know. I'm not cleared for that bullshit. Last I heard there were rumors of a laser the size of a needle sent to kill the president. Because that was the solution. Kill the president for global warming? GREAT plan, Sons of Liberty. Yeah... kinda like the ones for the Revolution and such except they killed anyone and everyone. Including themselves. More like a gang.

What did this have to do with anything? Well one of these norms(normal people, my short version) was thinking about him and the thought entered my brain. This gift of mine wouldn't shut the fuck up.

"We shouldn't take her. We don't know what she did or if she's stable or not. It doesn't matter that she shows signs of intelligence. She was here for a reason." X.

"Then maybe we should check her file." Carter.

I wasn't here. I was invisible, that was it. New gift. Not only am I psychic, I'm invisible. Moving on up into the world.

"Why can't we just leave?" I had a feeling that whiny, seductive voices were her thing. And my feelings were always right. Not trying to sound pompous, but they were. Unless they were coming from my emotional response system in which case I was full of shit. But who isn't?

"Maybe she can help us." Carter.

"Do what? Get murdered?!"

"She might know the layout. The people."

"Come on, Carter, you know she's been hyped on meds this entire time. What's the likelihood of her knowing anything useful?" X.

"She knew about the keys." Carter.

"Common sense!"

"So now she has sense?"

They sounded like a fighting family. I didn't like fighting families. So I walked passed them, out the door, and kept walking. I knew it was childish, and probably very stupid. They were the only sane people in here. Not only that, but they offered an escape. Then again, unlike Natalie, I knew there was a car left in the parking lot, and that it had a full tank of gas. So I had an alternate plan.

Problem was, whereas the halls were relatively empty before, now it was rushhour. For murderers. This scenario shows one of the top problems with the world today. Everyone has somewhere to go, and where I need to go doesn't matter. And the poor people still inside of that room, what were they going to do?

_"Is that... a visitor. I don't like visitors." _They'd attract the attention of a mass murderer. Great. If I just... leave them, how bad would I feel? Why, Cyle, you'd feel nothing at all. You're a stone cold bitch. I turned back. I had a weakness. Plus, they knew more about the last few months, the last few hours, hopefully, than I did. That made them qualified to take care of me.

Funny how I was going to end up taking care of them. I felt like a babysitter. Or a secret agent. To the rescue! They were trying to walk out as I walked in. I could have said "Stop! They're everywhere." But I didn't. Instead I stood there and pointed them back inside.

"What is she doing?' X.

"Telling us to go back in." Carter.

"And what, we're just supposed to listen to her?"

"Maybe."

"Carter, I know you have some misplaced affection for her but we have to get out of here and if she wants to help, she needs to get out of the way."

I looked behind my shoulder. People were walking around, almost in a daze. Where was he? I frowned.

"What is she looking for?"

"Maybe if she moved, we could see!" Natalie. I backed slowly away.

"_Oh, you're pretty. Is the blonde real?" Fear. Screams. _

_"Don't touch me!" _

_"What's a pretty girl like you doing around here? You __oughta__ know better."_

The bitch was going to die. I eyed the three of them coming out of the room like everything was going to be okay. Like Natalie wasn't going to die of suffocation, and X would get stabbed. Carter would die in the parking lot. Why do I know that?! God, if you're out there, this gift sucks ass. Was the future certain? Hell, I didn't even know. At the moment though they were going to die. And if it was certain, then I couldn't do anything and I should just go get that car and leave.

Or wait for them all to die and take the supplies. Choices, choices.

_"If anything is certain __Cyle__, you're is certain. So cheer up. " "But daddy, how do I know I'm not ugly?" "I said so." _I don't want advice from my past damn it! This was no time to reminisce. Nothing is certain. Fate could be changed. Or so my father believed.

"Cyle." My head swung to Carter. I hadn't realized that I was lost in my visions. "Where should we go?" I blinked. He asked me a question. Why did he ask me a question? I was trying to figure out if fate was real and I didn't like flash decisions, damn it!

I pointed left. No, I did not just know which direction the murderer was going to be. I had a choice between the red and blue wire and I chose blue. Randomnly. No thought. No visions. I was going to hell. I just knew left would lead us to the staircase to downstairs and that was where Carter's car was.

"Are we really going to go in the direction of a murderer?" X.

Silence. No true silence. No, never true. There were people walking the halls, and somewhere there was a door swinging back and forth. Outside birds were chirping and dogs were barking. I would never have silence. Not of the mind. Not of the ears.

_Hands sliding down her legs. He fingered her panties slowly, back and forth. His hands were freezing. In the living room a bell tolled. Every night. Hands sliding. Reaching, pulling, pushing. One night there was more. The knife. I had to use the knife. _

"Cyle. Can you talk?"

But I could with my mouth.

**~*la A.N~ Please review. Don't just read and not say anything. I have quite a bit of the 3rd chapter, but I probably won't put it up if I don't have reviews :)**


	3. Outdated

**********~*la A.N~** Sorry for the wait. I did not mean to forget to upload the chapter. I've had it for a long time. Science girl 1117, I'm glad you like it. I'd appreciate being able to PM you though. And you will find out about X a little later on. :) Enjoy.

**Chapter 3: **

_Sometimes there are no words to describe things._

Lies are bad. Very, very bad. Right? The only question I had about lying was, if it wasn't words, than could you somehow misconstrue a head nod or something... and even though it was a lie, it wasn't because it wasn't words? Well, I would've asked Carter my question, but first of all, it was worded weird, and there was no way I could ask, "Is nodding the opposite of the way you should answer a lie?" That was too simple. Second of all, if I asked, then I couldn't nod without them knowing I could speak and then there was no point.

So I decided to shake my head, and if they didn't see that as an up and down nod, aka a yes, how was that my fault? I could've been raised where a nod was no and a shake was yes. For all they knew, I spoke another language. In fact I knew some Spanish. Mostly numbers, but whatever.

Shake.

"So, let me guess Carter, we're gonna follow this girl?" X sounded so derogatory. And to think I was possibly saving him from a stabbing. Gratitude these days.

"Do you have a better plan?"

"Yes, not follow this girl, and get out."

I would have tapped my foot waiting while they were arguing but it hurt. Both hurt. And my poor hand. Definitely no longer drugged. I had been looking forward to that day. Now I was wondering if I should have grabbed some more medication.

"Umm, guys. There are people, wandering. And I think that we should leave, whether behind her or not." .000001 amount of respect for Natalie. Oh God, my scoring system was corrupted. Why did she have to say something intelligent?!

I kind of wanted to whistle the Can Can, but I was having doubts on whether or not I could still do that while being mute, which was kinda stupid, but I couldn't risk it. I made the decision to be quiet. Though right now I wanted to scream at them and threaten to poke their eyes out with the piece of glass I had left in my room. Sometimes, violence was the answer.

"Fine. Let crazy girl lead the way." It was pathetic, but the word crazy was starting to become my identifier, and when I heard it, I did turn my head to the reference. So I was kind of like a new puppy when you get it and name it, and then change the name, and for awhile it gets confused and goes by both. Right?

Cyle was the better name though. Crazy had too many syllables, and it just wasn't a friendly name. Cyle made me think of butterflies and rainbows. Crazy made me think of unicorns and rainbows. Trust me, there was a difference.

Now, when I used to play follow the leader as a child, I was never the leader. Now I had the power. Trouble was, I did not know if I went the way I originally thought of was going to be the way to take them to their death. Oh well. I decided to head towards the stairs that would take us downstairs, incidentally next to the cafeteria. I suspected that we needed better food than Snickers, Doritos, and peanuts.

I just started going in that direction, and hoping they would follow dutifully. They did, and quietly too! They were very good followers. Maybe they felt my aura of leadership. Or didn't want to attract the murderers. I was leaning towards the former though.

The staircase wasn't far, but the people we were passing looked curiously at our group. I was sincerely worried that they would stop and come after us. Some of the peoples thoughts passed through my mind, but I tried to not focus too hard. _"I must find her... and kill her. The first time I made the mistake of falling in love with her. This time... oh this time." _Why were these stories so interesting?! Why couldn't they be boring so that I wouldn't want to try and focus?

"Carter, I'm scared." Natalie's pathetic little whine reached my ears. She was whispering, but that one whisper had three patients turning to look. Shhing her wasn't even a real option. So I just kept going.

When I got to the staircase door, I waited for X to realize that we needed the key. I huffed. Was I allowed to huff? I thought so... I turned around and stared at them. Natalie was holding onto Carter's arm, almost cowering. X had already put his hand out with the key to give over. I took it from him and opened the door, gripping the key in my hand instead of giving it back.

When the door shut back, the trio felt like it was perfectly alright to just start talking. Obviously no one would hear them.

"This isn't the way we came." X pointed out. Thank you Captain Obvious. Your input was necessary.

"Why can't we use the elevator? It was right next to the staircase." Respect lost. Thank God. Or whoever. Not feeling faithful towards the God who wouldn't let me turn lights on. My system was still technically corrupt, but that was okay. Everyone has issues sometimes.

"The electricity went out. We have no idea if the elevators are even still working, and there won't be any technicians or firefighters to answer our call." Carter said this quietly, having the intelligence to know being loud wasn't the best plan. Natalie on the otherhand...

"I hate stairs. I make it a point to avoid them at all costs."

"But poles... I bet they get you going don't they?" X. I wanted to laugh. But laughter involved my voice. This was more difficult than it sounded. Heh, sounded. Get it? Why do I talk to myself? Good question. We had to go down 3 flights of stairs before we finally reached my destination. Yes, it was mine. I wanted to go to the cafeteria and help them avoid impending death.

I had a mission. It was my mission and a good one at that. At least from my point of view. Not that my view matters... to them. But it does to me so they could go run to their car and speed off if they wished. They wouldn't speed off. They would die. That was my prediction. And my hypothesis was that if they stayed with me, they could live. The question was whether or not they would follow me.

Method? Couple of possibilites: 1. Threaten them with my weapon.

2. Point.

3. Grab X's hand and never let go.

4. Walk and "assume" they shall follow.

Faults in my planning? Psh, are you kidding? None! Okay... fine. I'm lying. To myself. Which is highly creative.

Faults in Plan 1: -I don't have a weapon

-I can't ask for one

-Stealing isn't nice.

-Even if stealing was nice, I'd never pickpocketed, or pickhandeded.

-Am I really that threatening? And if I was threatening, would they follow threatening me? I wouldn't follow me if I was threatening.

Faults in Plan 2: -The pointing might become misconstrued. They might think I was pointing the direction to not go. At least Natalie might.

-They seem to not like pointing coming from a mental patient. It's like they don't trust me.

-I was taught to not point from my mother. She can go to hell, but it's the principle of the thing.

Faults in Plan 3: -One of his hands hold a gun. I would be stupid to grab that one, but he might like his other hand and wish to kill over it.

-Natalie might think I'm trying to attack.

-He might pull his hand away.

-He might think I'm coming on to him.

-Never letting go is a little extreme. Might want to rethink wording if it comes to that.

Faults in Plan 4: -Assumptions make asses of us all.

Chosen method? Plan 4. I know it wasn't creative, but it was the least likely to backfire completely. It really was their fault if they didn't follow. I was not to blame specifically if something went wrong. By the end of the 3rd flight Natalie was huffing like she had ran a mile. I paused at the door to the lobby because I did not know who was out there. The first floor was generally just for employees or visitors, but if every patient was out, than it was possible to find some unwanted personnel around here.

"Well is she just going to stand there?"

I glared at her. If I decided to stand in front of this door all day, it was none of her damn business. I really needed to work on my social skills before I started to talk again. She stepped back a little bit. Fuck it. I pushed the door opened and walked out, letting it swing back on them.

The lights were off down here. Come on God, seriously? Why do you make light, and then take it away? Even if technically it was that Graham-Bell guy who made lightbulbs. What the fuck? Edison, Cyle. EDISON. Why are lightbulbs not immortal by now?

A crash sounded down the hall. What was down there? Are you there God? I blew air and closed my eyes and concentrated. Vision, come to me. 1,2,3,4... nothing. Really?! I just wanted to know what was down there!

_"I love him. I love him. I love him. Why will no one believe me? I would never kill the motherfucking cheating bastard." _I asked for a vision, not fucking voices. Not that I wanted to see anything about that woman. She talked to herself. I mean, who does that? Crazy people. That's who.

The door behind me opened and the hall was bathed in the glow. It looked like noone was down here, but looks would always be deceiving. It may sound like an old horror cliche but I thought that something or someone was going to jump out at me. Nothing did. In my head or otherwise.

"I can't see a damn thing." X was saying what I was thinking. Well, what I had thought a second or two ago.

"Which is why I have a flashlight." I liked this Carter fellow. The little precious beam of light flew past me. I just went left. Follow the light. NO. Cafeteria this way. But the light... I AM NOT A DAMN MOTH. But the dark is... I sounded like one of the patients.

"Where the fuck is she going?"

"Hopefully the way we need to."

"What if she wants to kill us?" Natalie, ever the paranoid one. Who cared if this was a hospital for killers. I certainly did not expect those first people I met of murder. Logically there was going to be a couple falsely accused. Like the idiots who pleaded insanity. That plea was much more common nowadays. Why? Because institutions were SO much fun. Nah, prisons were becoming less used. Death penalty, mental facility... middle east. Choices for the guilty.

"Then lets hope she picks the least intelligent of us all." I'll let you take a guess on who that was.

Cafeteria. Cafe. Teria. Afeteriacay. PIG LATIN. MY GOD THAT WAS OLD. I think I might have ADHD. No matter. When I reached the big door and pushed through, I realized I needed that damn flashlight to see what I was doing. I moved out of the way and waiting, ever so patiently, for my wonderful followers. I needed a few more. Perhaps I could go by the river and get a fisherman.

Carter walked in and moved his flashlight around. Some trays still sat out from people who had eaten earlier that day. I wanted to get some can food but it's hard to find things when you can not see a damn thing. I contemplated stealing the flashlight, but X and Natalie came in.

"What is she, hungry?" X, ever the smartass. However, very accurate. I had not eaten. The food sucked here. At least what I remember of it did.

"I think she wants us to pack some food, other than the stuff from the vending machines." No way. Dorito's are good forever.

"Didn't you already bring some cans?"

"Yes, but now there are 4 of us, and it would be smart to get more. I have room in my bag. Check yours. Maybe's theres something in here to use also."

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap tap tap tap tap.

"Will you tell the retard to stop tapping? She's giving me a headache." Aww. Poor thing. She was a headache.

"We should hurry. She's just impatient."

Patience is a virtue my mother would say. She could shove it up her ass. Sometime waiting was not the better plan. Eventually they made the move towards some of the back doors. I went to the cash registers. Because the electricity was out, the drawers were easy to open. There usually wasn't much of an issue with thievery here. Other than baby dolls. Wonder if that man got away?

Yep. Second floor bathroom. Door locked. Yuck. I suppose this is what that Jacob guy did while he waited for Renesmee. At least he was werewolf. It wasn't much of an excuse, but werewolves don't exist. Pedophiles do.

"Well, at least she's smart." Carter had turned to look for me and X stood and watched while I put the cash in my pockets. Most of it. It was only about a hundred but there were four other registers. X went to one, and I went to the other. The rest of the money went to my bag, and then X divided his and the other between him and Carter.

Natalie asked for some, but there was this understood silence that resulted from the question. We all moved to the kitchen. It was rather eery, as if people were in the middle of doing things before leaving. Most of the stoves had been left on, but that wasn't big deal. No power.

Carter found the pantry and started filling the bag. I reached past and got some things for me. Fruit mostly. There was no way in hell I was eating uncooked green beans or corn. Seemed smarter to take the things that tasted fine alone.

When Carter's bag filled and X's, we made our way back the way we came. Hopefully we had gotten enough. Natalie had a bag, but she didn't offer to fill it, or bother herself. She probably thought someone would fix the food for her.

"Is she going to get us out now? We need to get a move on. The country's gone all to hell. We don't know how it's going to be on the road. " A dead cat and a squirrel. That's what was on the road anyhow.

"I don't know X. Why don't you ask her?" Oh yes, DO. Ask the person you are following with absolutely no reasoning. I looked at X.

"Well, are you going to take us out of here?" I would have smiled sardonically, but the last time I made an attempt to smile, a scream was let out. I would have assumed that Natalie would hold it in this time, but I did not want to test it. I just chose to nod sharply. I would get them out of here.

_"Carter!"_

_"Just get out! Go! Save yourselves!"_

Maybe. I wanted to at least. Preferably with the intelligent man. He seemed like a nice fellow. And yet he was the one I saw die. Leaving was not going to be as simple as I truly wanted it to be. Standing back in the hall, the lights flickered, and something crashed to the right. I resisted the urge to scream, instead running left. Pretending like we were playing follow the leader, I concentrated on dodging objects.

The lights came back on. And a patient stood a few feet aways from me. Bald and skinny, his face was pale, but the knife in his hand persuaded me to think he was not a nice senior citizen. I had never liked old people. They were ugly, confused, and generally very slow in store lines. This man had not necessarily pleaded insanity. He was insane. Natalie screamed, and I waited for X to pull off a round in the man's forehead.

Nothing happened. When I looked back, Carter had stayed X's hand. That stupid dumbass. This is why he would die. Saving a man who would kill him in a moment. And very possibly save us. I liked the sound of living, but I did not want one of my followers to die. Then I would have only two, and one couldn't change a lightbulb. No, seriously, there was a moment where a past memory entered my mind, and she legit could not change it.

Carter stepped forward with his hand out, making what should have been a calming sound, all the while I was imagining this being his last breath. An "mmmm." I shot a look at X who looked incredulated at Carter's bravery, heh, stupidity. I pointed at the gun and at the patient, but he frowned. I took a step towards him and he backed up. Damn him. I flipped towards Carter and hurried to reach him before that knife went through his heart.

The "I'll kill you!" and stab to his shoulder made Carter say those damning words. "Just get out! Go! Save yourselves!" X shot the murderers head off so it all worked out. I was still sorta miffed that my vision did not end the way it was supposed to. Yes, I still had three followers, but I mean, if I couldn't trust my visions, I couldn't trust my own mind. I did not want to truly be labeled as mental. Even though technically my file said I was. Stable until proven otherwise was my motto.

There was a rush to get completely out of here, so Carter held his shoulder and I grabbed the knife from the dead guy. Dead people were proving to be useful. I hid it in my bag, and they were too busy tying off the wound to notice little ole me gaining a weapon. We got out to the front of the institution. Fuck. Carter owned a truck. Damn outdated things. Guess how many seats there were?


End file.
